Pitless well adapter

ABSTRACT

A pitless well adapter comprises an elongate body having a fitting in its lower end for connection to the well pipe and having a fitting at the upper end for connection to a pull pipe. The body has two end flanges and a central flange, and the exterior surface between these flanges presents two tapered portions. One tapered portion flares downwardly and outwardly from the upper end flange, while the other tapered portion flares downwardly and outwardly from the central flange. When the adapter is installed, O-ring seals will roll along the flared surfaces and seat within grooves, so that the adapter is mounted in sealed relation within the well casing.

UnitedStates Patent Inventor Dean C. Kramer Mason City, Iowa Appl. No.853,094 Filed Aug. 26, 1969 Patented Jan. 19, 1971 Assignee MartinsonManufacturing Co., Inc.

Sheffield, Iowa a corporation of Iowa PITLESS WELL ADAPTER 4 Claims, 4Drawing Figs.

[1.5. CI... 166/88 Int. Cl EZlb 33/03 Field of Search 166/85, 88

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,065,792 11/1962 Andrew 166/883,380,533 4/1968 Andrew 3,403,730 10/1968 Williams PrimaryExaminer.lames A. Leppink Attorney-Williamson, Palmatier and BainsABSTRACT: A pitless well adapter comprises an elongate body having afitting in its lower end for connection to the well pipe and having afitting at the upper end for connection to a pull pipe. The body has twoend flanges and a central flange, and the exterior surface between theseflanges presents two tapered portions. One tapered portion flaresdownwardly and outwardly from the upper end flange, while the othertapered portion flares downwardly and outwardly from the central flange.When the adapter is installed, O-ring seals will roll along the flaredsurfaces and seat within grooves, so that the adapter is mounted insealed relation within the well casing.

seated relation during installation of the adapter to thereby facilitateinstallation of the pitless adapter. The O-ring seals engage theinterior surface of the well casing so that the outlet of the adapter iseffectively sealed-fromthe exterior. The O- rings are loosely positionedaround the body and are sealingly interposed between the adapter and thewell=casing only when seated in the grooves of the adapter body." Withthis arrangement, the O-ring s'ealsmay be urgedpast obstructions in thewell casing during installation because of the unique construction ofthe pitless well adapter body.

Suitable recesses are provided in the pitless well adapter body sothatshifting the well adapter slightly upwardly, the rings which aresnugly, seated within the annular grooves in the body, will move intothe, recesses and permit removal of the adapter from the well casing.The present pitless well adapter is therefore adapted for easyinstallation and removal from a well casing, as .well as providingahighly efficient sa sealed coupling between the well pipeand thelateral line.

BRIEF oescmprionor THE FIGURES OF d DRAWING Q j FIG. I is a verticalsectional view'of the novel pitless well adapter illustrated in aninitial position during sin installation thereof; a l y I F1602 is aview similar to FIG. 1 but illustrating the pitless well adapter inanintermediate positionduring installation 7 thereof;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIGS. l and 2 but illustrating the pitlesswell adapter in the installed position; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to theprevious views but illustrating therelationship of the parts during removal of the pitless well adapterfrom the well casing. t

DETAILED DESCRlPllON or THE'INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, itwill be seen that one embodiment of d the, novel pitless well adapter,designated generally by the reference numeral 10, is there shown. Thispitless well adapteris of the type which serves to couple the conduitconnected to the submersible pump with the lateral line or conduit whichis positioned below the frost line. With this arrangement, it will benoted that the well casing l l is provided with a lateral outlet fittingl2 which, as shown, is located below the frost line L, and the lateralconduit is adapted to be connected in communicating relation to thisfitting. The well casing projects slightly above the surface of theground, and the pitless well adapter is introduced through the upper endof the casing and intercommunicates the conduit connected to thesubmersible pump with the lateral conduit.

The pitless well adapter includes an elongate hollow body 13 preferablyformed of a suitablerigid material such as metal, plastic or the like,and having an internal wall 14 integrally formed therewith which dividesthe interior-of the body into a chamber 15 and a chamber 16. The lowerend portion of the body has an integrally threaded fitting 17 formedthereat which actually defines the inlet .of the pitless well adapter.It will be noted that the internal wall 14 together with a dependingportion of the body actually forms the fitting 17. The fitting 17 isconnected to the upper threaded end of a con duit 18 which extendsdownwardly into the wellcasing and is connected at its lower end incommunicating relation with respect to a submersible pump (not shown).

The upper end of the body 13 has an internal threaded fitting l9integrally formed therewith which is connected in threaded relation withthe lower threaded end of a riser or pull pipe 20. The upper end portionof the pull pipe is provided with a coupling 21 and this coupling maybeclosed by a suitable plug when the pitless well adapter is in acompletely installed position or it may be connected'to other lengths ofpull pipe during installation and removailof the adapter. When theadapter is in the installed position, the coupling 21 engages a retainermember 22 .-in sealed relation therewith, the retainer sealinglyengaging the upper end of the well casing. It will be noted that thefitting-I7 and the fitting l9 ar disposed in coaxial relation withrespect to each other and that an opening 23 formed at the lower endofthe body at one side of the fitting 17. This opening communicates withthe chamber-l6, and electrical conductors 24 extend upwardly from thepump through the opening 23 and extend through the chamberl6 and finallythrough pipe 20. These conductors are connectedto a source ofelectrical'current to operate the pump in a well known manner. It willbe noted that the conduit '18 is intercommunicated with the chamber 15and is sealed with respect to the chamber 16.

The body .13 is provided with an. upper annular flange 25 which isintegrally formed therewith and which projects outwardly therefromadjacent the upper end thereof. A lower annular flange 26 is integrallyformed with-the body adjacent the lower end thereof and projectsradially outwardly therefrom. An intermediate flange 27 is integrallyformed with the body intermediate the ends thereof and projectsoutwardly therefrom. The intermediate flange 27 is spaced equidistantfrom the flanges 25 and 26. It will benoted that the flanges are of thesame size and are of a size substantially smaller than the interior ofthe casing. lt will also be noted that the body has an annular groove orseat 30 which is located adjacent but spaced from the intermediateflange 27. The: lower tapered portion 29 terminates downwardly in alower annular groove or seat 31 which is spaced from but closelyadjacent the lower flange 26. It is pointed out the 'length of the uppertapered portion is identical to the length of the lower tapered portion.lt is also pointed out that the upper and lower tapered portions are ofsubstantially identical frustoconical configuration.

An upper annular recess 32 is located between the lower end of the uppertapered portion and flange 27, and a lower annular recess 33 is locatedbetween the lower flange 26 and the lower tapered portion 29. Thecross-sectional size of the body through the recesses is substantiallysmaller than the size of the body through the tapered portions includingthe seats or grooves in the tapered portions. An upper annular O-ring 34engages in the seat or groove 30 anda lower O-ring seal 35 engages inthe seat or groove 31 when the adapter is in the fully installedposition. When so installed, it will be noted that the O-rings sealinglyengage the inner surface of the well casing, as best seen in FIG. 3, todefine an exterior chamber 36 that communicates with the opening 15a inthe body 10 and communicates with the outlet 12 in thecasing.

During installation of the pitless well adapter, the fitting 12 of thecasing II will be connected in communicating relation with a lateralconduit. The pitless well adapter will have its lower fitting 17connected to the conduit 18 which in turn is connected to the pump. Thefitting 19 will be connected to the pull pipe 20. The coupling 21 of thepull pipe, with the plug removed, may be connected to additional pullpipe sections as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The 0-ring 34 will be loosely positionedaround the upper tapered portionwhile the O-ring 35 will be loosely positioned around the lower taperedportion. In this regard, O-ring 34 will be positioned against the upperend flange 25 while the lower O-ring 35 will be positioned against thelower surface of the intermediate flange 27.

As the pitless well adapter is inserted into the casing, the rings willslide along the interior of the well casing and because of the loosearrangement of the O-rings with respect to the body, these O-rings willtraverse any inwardly projecting obstructions such as a weld or thelike. This is very important during the installation of a pitless welladapter. These O- rings will be -'held against the respective upper andintermediate flanges respectively until the pitless well adapter ismoved downwardly beyond its correctly located position, as

. best seen in FIG. 2. Thus the adapter is lowered to a point below thelateral outlet and this distance corresponds to the length of therespective tapered portions. Thereafter, when the adapter is pulled inan upward direction into the correct position, the O-rings are rolleddownwardly along the tapered portion and will seat in the upper endlower grooves or seats, as best seen in FIG. 3. When this occurs, theexterior chamber 36 is defined between the well casing and the exteriorsurface of the body, and this exterior chamber intercommunicates withthe opening a and the lateral opening in the casing. Thus water underpressure passing upwardly through the conduit 18 will circulate throughthe exterior chamber 36 as well as the interior chamber 15 and thispressure condition will prevent any tendency of water from the exteriorfrom seeping 3 into the chamber 36. However, the O-rings 34 and 35provide excellent seals to seal against any seepage of water or the likeinto the chamber 36. As pointed out above, the upper end of the casingis also sealingly closed. However, the well itself may be vented throughthe pull pipe since certain state codes require venting of the well.

In the event that it is desirable to remove the adapter from the wellcasing, it is merely necessary to pull upwardly on the pull pipe and thetwo O-rings will then drop into the recesses 32 and 33, respectively,and the adapter may thereafter be very easily pulled from the wellcasing.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that l have provided a novel pitlesswell adapter of single-piece construction which utilizes a pair ofO-ring seals to seal the adapter in place in the well casing.

It will further be noted that the uniquely constructed body of thepitless well adapter permits installation of the adapter even though thewell casing may have inwardly projecting obstructions. My novel pitlesswell adapter not only permits precise location of the adapter withrespect to the lateral outlet but also is arranged and constructed tofacilitate ready removal of the adapter from the well casing.

Thus it will be seen that l have provided a pitless well adapter whichis not only of simple and inexpensive construction but one whichfunctions in a more efficient manner than any heretofore knowncomparable device.

' lclaim:

l. A pitless well adapter for use within a well casing having a lateraloutlet therein located below the surface of the ground,

comprising:

a hollow elongate body adapted to be vertically oriented in awellcasing; J

an internal wall located interiorlyof said body and integral therewithand dividing the interior into a pair of chambers, one of said chambershaving an outlet opening therein for communicating witha lateral outletin the well casing; Y 1

means at the lower end of said body defining an inlet communicating withsaid one chamber and adapted to be connected in communicating relationwith a conduit connected to a submerged pump; i

an outwardly projecting upper element integrally formed with said bodyadjacent the upper end thereof;

an outwardly projecting lower element integrally formed with said bodyadjacent the lower end thereof;

an intermediate element integral with said body intermediate the endsthereof and projecting outwardly therefrom;

said body having an exterior surface including a first portionincreasing in crosssectional size from said upper element to ad acentthe intermediate element, a second portion increasing in cross-sectionalsize from said intermediate element to adjacent said lower element;

said first tapered portion terminating downwardly in annular groove;

said second portion terminating downwardly in a-seco'nd annular groove;

a pair of yieldable O-ring members one of which is seated in said firstannular groove and the other of which is seated in said second annulargroove and being engageable in sealing relation with the inner surfaceof a well casing when the adapter is positioned therein to defineasealedchamber including said one chamber and intercommu nicating said outletopening with the lateral outletin the casing; and 1" attachment means atthe upper end of said tubular body adapted to be connected to the lowerend of a pull pipe.

2. The pitless well adapter as defined in claim 1 wherein said firstportion and said second portion each has substantially the same lengthdimension and each uniformly increases in crosssectional size in adownward direction.

3. The pitless well adapter as defined in claim 1 wherein said upper,lower, and intermediate elements each comprises an annular flangeintegral with the body projecting outwardly therefrom, and said flangesare of substantially the same size.

4. The pitless well adapter as defined in claim 1 and a first annularrecess in the exterior surface of said body located between saidintermediate element and said first annular groove, and a second annularrecess in the exterior surface of said body located between said lowerelement and said second annular groove.

1. A pitless well adapter for use within a well casing having a lateraloutlet therein located below the surface of the ground, comprising: ahollow elongate body adapted to be vertically oriented in a well casing;an internal wall located interiorly of said body and integral therewithand dividing the interior into a pair of chambers, one of said chambershaving an outlet opening therein for communicating with a lateral outletin the well casing; means at the lower end of said body defining aninlet communicating with said one chamber and adapted to be connected incommunicating relation with a conduit connected to a submerged pump; anoutwardly projecting upper element integrally formed with said bodyadjacent the upper end thereof; an outwardly projecting lower elementintegrally formed with said body adjacent the lower end thereof; anintermediate element integral with said body intermediate the endsthereof and projecting outwardly therefrom; said body having an exteriorsurface including a first portion increasing in cross-sectional sizefrom said upper element to adjacent the intermediate element, a secondportion increasing in cross-sectional size from said intermediateelement to adjacent said lower element; said first tapered portionterminating downwardly in a first annular groove; said second portionterminating downwardly in a second annular groove; a pair of yieldableO-ring members one of which is seated in said first annular groove andthe other of which is seated in said second annular groove and beingengageable in sealing relation with the inner surface of a well casingwhen the adapter is positioned therein to define a sealed chamberincluding said one chamber and intercommunicating said outlet openingwith the lateral outlet in the casing; and attachment means at the upperend of said tubular body adapted to be connected to the lower end of apull pipe.
 2. The pitless well adapter as defined in claim 1 whereinsaid first portion and said second portion each has substantially thesame length dimension and each uniformly increases in cross-sectionalsize in a downward direction.
 3. The pitless well adapter as defined inclaim 1 wherein said upper, lower, and intermediate elements eachcomprises an annular flange integral with the body projecting outwardlytherefrom, and said flanges are of substantially the same size.
 4. Thepitless well adapter as defined in claim 1 and a first annular recess inthe exterior surface of said body located between said intermediateelement and said first annular groove, and a second annular recess inthe exterior surface of said body located between said lower element andsaid second annular groove.